Pakistan sends helicopters, drones to end desert town stand-off; 58 dead
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A police officer walking past damage at a site after militant attacks in Quetta, Pakistan, on Feb 1.
PHOTO: REUTERS
QUETTA – Pakistan’s security forces used drones and helicopters to wrest control of a south-western town from separatist insurgents after a three-day battle, the police said on Feb 4, as the death toll in the weekend’s violence rose to 58.
The Jan 31 wave of coordinated attacks
“I thought the roof and walls of my house were going to blow up,” said Ms Robina Ali, a housewife living near the main administrative building in the fortified provincial capital of Quetta, where a powerful morning blast rocked the area.
Fighters of the BLA, the region’s strongest insurgent group, stormed schools, banks, markets and security installations across Balochistan in one of their largest operations ever, killing more than 22 security officials and 36 civilians.
Police officials gave details of the situation on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media.
In the desert town of Nushki, home to about 50,000, the insurgents seized control of the police station and other security installations, triggering a three-day standoff.
The police said seven officers were killed in the fighting before they regained control of the town late on Feb 2, while operations against the BLA
“More troops were sent to Nushki,” said one security official. “Helicopters and drones were used against the militants.”
Pakistan’s interior ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Late night attacks
Pakistan’s largest and poorest province, mineral-rich Balochistan, borders Iran and Afghanistan, and is home to Beijing’s investment in the Gwadar deepwater port and other projects.
It has grappled with a decades-long insurgency led by ethnic Baloch separatists seeking greater autonomy and a larger share of its natural resources.
The BLA, which has urged people of the province to support the movement, said on Feb 3 it had killed 280 soldiers during its Operation “Herof”, or Black Storm, but gave no evidence.
Security officials said the weekend attacks began at 4am on Jan 31 with suicide blasts in Nushki and the fishing port of Pasni, and gun and grenade attacks in 11 more places, including Quetta.
The insurgents seized at least six district administration offices during the siege and had advanced at one point to within 1km of the provincial chief minister’s office in Quetta, the police officials said.
Evolving insurgency
Pakistan has blamed India for the attacks, without furnishing evidence for charges that could escalate hostilities between the nuclear-powered neighbours who fought their worst armed conflict in decades in May.
India’s foreign ministry has rejected the charges, saying Islamabad should instead tackle the “longstanding demands of its people in the region”.
Retired Lieutenant-General Amir Riaz, who led the military in Balochistan from 2015 to 2017, said the insurgency had evolved over the last decade.
He added that it gained strength as the BLA received Indian support and used Afghanistan as a staging ground for its attacks, a charge the Taliban government has denied.
Retired Lt-Gen Riaz said the conflict would oscillate between stalemate and periods of heightened violence.
“It has escalated. The response will be decisive, leading to serious capacity degradation of the BLA,” he said, denying that the Pakistani military has used excessive force in Balochistan.
“However, ultimately, the issues are only resolved through political process and governance.” REUTERS
